Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey

Okay, so I gather that all of you have heard about the racist comments that Michael Richards made at the Laugh Factory in L.A. You may have also heard about him coming out and apologizing and getting with black leaders to usher in a new era of respect and abolishment of the n word.

Here's how I feel about it. The man screwed up in a major way, and I don't think that he will be able to rebound from it. He says he was heckled and he lost control. I think that it takes a little more than that to get past the hurdle he put up for himself.

Call me crazy, but I'm thinking outside the box. I'm not giving him a pass on this one. It's one thing to be angry, but you have to be control of yourself. I don't care how much money you have, you are still held accountable for what you did. If I got harrassed by a customer at Best Buy while I was still working for the Geek Squad, and I got frustrated to the point that I yelled out racial slurs, I would LOSE MY JOB. There would be no televised apologies and corralling with public figures of the same race to prove a point. I would be out the door, and more than likely, would be barred from working at a Best Buy ever again.

Let's look at the other thing. People talk about how black people make racial slurs and use the N word all the time and how this shouldn't be held against him. POPPYCOCK. If you look at the video, he said more than the word "nigger" a bunch of times. At the BEGINNING of his tirade (before the N word was blurted), he said "50 years ago, we'd have you hanging upside down with a fork up your ass." Uhhhhh, what COMEDIANS say something like that as a joke? What PERSON (black, white, or whatever) says something like that without having racist undertones. Then, as the heckler says how uncalled for it is, Mike says "well, that's what happens when you interrupt the white man!" Dude, come on. HOW can the supporters of Richards IGNORE these facts and focus on ONE word as their saving grace.

However, I AM against the N word (as you all well know). I gotta agree with all the others in that there needs to be an end to the N. I don't know when that day will be, but I anxiously await it. Mike Richards, I will pray for you.

-B